The Asia Pacific Network for Cultural Education and Research (ANCER) Conference organized by Cambodian Living Arts in partnership with the Institut français du Cambodge, and LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, will take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 14 - 16 January 2016. The deadline for application is 30 November 2015.

The network was initiated by the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore in 2011, as a means of reflecting on arts management and cultural policy practices in the Asia Pacific region and emphasizing on research and the production of knowledge in these fields. The 3rd ANCER conference entitled Vitality and Viability: Arts Ecosystems in Asia will include keynote speeches and working sessions, focusing on the themes of:

regional networks,

policy environments,

leaders and managers, and

audience development.

The conference is for arts managers, cultural leaders, cultural researchers and policymakers. It will also feature a young researchers' panel, in which researchers from the Asia-Pacific region will present the findings in their respective research fields in arts management and cultural policy. In addition, the organisers have planned an exciting behind-the-scenes pre and post-conference cultural tour in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap that will showcase the contemporary art and cultural heritage highlights of Cambodia.

Following the implementation of several summer academies, the Institute for Peace and Dialogue (IPD) announces the 1st International Winter Academy in Peacebuilding, Mediation, Conflict Resolution, Intercultural Dialogue and Security, to be held in Zug, Switzerland, on 15 - 25 February 2016. Its image as one of the most favourable places for travel has made it more interesting to offer a comprehensive program for participants. Participants of the Winter Academy may also choose to stay in Switzerland for a research period of a 3-Month CAS Program, between 15 February and 14 May 2016.

The main goal of the Winter Academy is to strengthen the skills of the representatives of state organs, the business sector, NGOs, education institutes and independent mediators through institutional global academic education in peacebuilding, mediation, conflict resolution, security and intercultural dialogue. IPD offers several types of scholarship support to reduce the participation fee amount for most needed potential participants from all over the world.

The 63rd Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS) entitled Legacies of Transcultural Encounters in the Americas will take place in Cartagena, Colombia, on 9 - 13 March 2016. SECOLAS invites faculty members, independent scholars and graduate students to submit panel and individual paper proposals for participation in the conference. The organisers welcome submissions on any aspect of Latin American and/or Caribbean Studies. They especially encourage papers and panels that address the conference theme (broadly conceived). Graduate student presenters will be eligible to apply for the Ed Moseley Award for the best paper presented at the SECOLAS meeting.

After the conference, all presenters will be eligible to submit their papers for publication consideration in the SECOLAS Annals issue of The Latin Americanist, an international, peer-reviewed journal published by SECOLAS and Wiley Blackwell.

Please fill out the form and upload your 250-word abstract for each panel and/or paper and a brief CV at the following link: goo.gl/sLZveb. You may alternatively submit your materials at the following email address: secolas2016@gmail.com

What are the possibilities offered by new technologies and digital media with regards to equality of access? How can traditional outreach activities be adapted to a digital format? Which new skills are required in order to seize the opportunities offered by digital media? Which European initiatives provide the most inspiration?

For its 2016 conference on Digital Keys: How can Technology Unlock the Arts for All?, RESEO is collaborating with Bristol Plays Music to explore these questions and carry on the reflection started in July 2015 with its European Overview of the Use of Digital Media for Opera, Music and Dance Education. This publication took an extensive look at the ways in which new technologies and digital media are changing audience interaction with art, and how these impact upon the work of arts education departments.

You are invited to join RESEO and Bristol Plays Music at Colston Hall, Bristol, UK, from 10 - 12 March 2016 for three days of debates, discussions, presentations and practical workshops, drawing on digital initiatives in order to provide real-life inspiration, new ideas and opportunities for exchange.

The thirteenth HCA Spring Academy on American History, Culture, and Politics will be held in Heidelberg, Germany, on 14 - 18 March 2016. The Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) invites applications for this annual conference that provides twenty international Ph.D. students with the opportunity to present and discuss their Ph.D. projects. The HCA Spring Academy will also offer participants the chance to work closely with experts in their respective fields of study. For this purpose, workshops held by visiting scholars will take place during the conference.

The organizers encourage applications that range broadly across the arts, humanities, and social sciences and pursue an interdisciplinary approach. Papers can be presented on any subject relating to the study of the United States of America. Possible topics include American identity, issues of ethnicity, gender, transatlantic relations, U.S. domestic and foreign policy, economics, as well as various aspects of American history, literature, religion, geography, law, musicology, and culture.

Accommodation will be provided by the Heidelberg Center for American Studies. Thanks to a small travel fund, the Spring Academy is able to subsidize travel expenses for participants registered and residing in developing and soft-currency countries.

The deadline for application is: 15 November 2015. Selections will be made by 8 January 2016.

In the context of rapid cultural and economic globalisation, over half of the World's population now lives in urban areas. Through rural migration, new economic opportunities and enhanced global mobility, cities and towns have expanded dramatically resulting in challenges to their character and identity. Visible changes in skylines and boundaries are also accompanied by less obvious shifts in how cities preserve, present and promote their pasts and traditions against fierce and competitive demands for space. Urban heritage, as the valued tangible and intangible legacies of the past, would appear to be an increasingly important asset for communities and governments alike, allowing cities to mark their distinctiveness, attract tourists and inward investment, and retain a historical narrative that feeds into the quality of life. At the same time, new heritage - the heritage of the future - is being created in cities and towns. This reflects the patterns and trends of wider economic, social and cultural change and is resulting in 'starchitecture' and new iconic structures, but also in small scale interventions whereby communities are creating and nurturing buildings, objects, spaces and practices that have meaning and value to them.

In this context, the conference seeks to examine the processes of protecting, planning and promoting urban heritage in the face of on-going changes, pressures and opportunities at the global and the local level. We wish to better understand the ways in which heritage can be mobilised in the development of city well-being and the changing approaches to how it is managed, taking into account issues of ownership, responsibility, local and national economies and identities. Critically the organisers address the question of long term sustainability and pose the question of what will future residents, communities and tourists inherit from their towns and cities?

In every country in the world medium-sized cities outnumber capital cities in both quantity and gross population. They are, however, historically overlooked. In a digital and interconnected age these cities have the potential to bypass capitals and challenge the hegemony of central economic and political organisations. They can form networks vastly more complex, intricate and numerous than the now standard group of connected 'global cities', they can become self-sustained economically and culturally and forge forward with new ideas in their specialist fields. In this context, the conference on digital-cultural ecology to be held in Bristol, UK, on 1-3 April 2016, focuses on how medium-sized cities from across the world are adapting to the economies, practices and infrastructures of the digital age; how the interaction and communication of the digital message is reframing life in these cities, whether new or old, and how the digitization of the urban arena is changing the reality of the representation of city life. In short, it asks what the implications are of the digital times in which we live on the civic, cultural, economic and urban forum of the medium-sized city.

The conference is organised by the journal Architecture_MPS, the Center for Moving Image Research (CMIR) and the University of Western England. The organizers welcome the participation of architects, planners, activists, artists, technologists, animators, filmmakers, cultural studies experts, programmers, gamers and more.

The international conference on Creative Industries and Digital Culture (ICCIDC) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 16 April 2016. The conference is devoted to mutual exchange of research results and professional opinions within the broad field of academic and research disciplines. The ICCIDC 2016 focuses on creative industries and digital culture, as well as the large spectrum of its implications within economy, management, technology, social and cultural studies, marketing, education, knowledge etc.

The aim of the ICCIDC 2016 conference is to reflect present day phenomena challenging the world of creative industries. Particular attention is given to digital technology and its influence on creativity, arts and media, but other relevant topics are also welcome. Attendees are requested to enhance the current body of knowledge in the field by submitting their scientific abstracts/papers, and thus contribute to its successful implementation.

Papers are invited to be submitted on a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) the following:

Creative industries, social media and convergence

New technologies and the creative sector

Digital arts, culture and lifestyle

Social, political and community agendas in creative industries

Arts policy, management and advocacy

Visual arts practices in the digital era

Performing arts practices in the digital era: Theatre, dance, music

Literary arts practices

Media arts practices in the digital era: Multimedia, digital, online and other new media

Immersive, experimental and interactive arts and media

Marketing and audience development in the digital age: New tools and methods.

The digital revolution is a fait accompli. Like a soluble medicine, it is dispersing into today's reality and changing it beyond recognition. While many doors for creativity and imagination seem to be open, the concern that technology is stifling live performance remains deep. How does the digital revolution challenge our creative practices and production, our marketing and audiences' habits? How do technologic developments open doors for imagination and gain new creative possibilities?

Live Art in Digital Times will be the main theme of the next IETM Spring Plenary Meeting to be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 14 - 17 April 2016. In collaboration with the National Dutch Theatre Festival, IETM will create a platform for enriching debate that will empower you with ideas, skills and courage to take advantage of the technological developments of these times.

In addition, participants will enjoy a vibrant mix of the very best Dutch performances in a special programme curated for IETM Amsterdam, presenting over 21 companies. And, of course, there will be lots of opportunities for informal networking. Both members and non-members are welcome to participate.

International Conference on Sustaining Sustainability: Heritages, Policies and Practices

Veszprém, Hungary, 28 - 29 April 2016

The Balaton Tourism Research Centre of the University of Pannonia in Veszprém, Hungary announces its international conference which will take place on 28 - 29 April 2016, focusing on some of the key issues that underpin the research interests of the unit, such as sustainable tourism development, heritage and heritage interpretation, tourism policy and links to research. Keynote speakers are Leo Jago (University of Surrey, UK), Kevin Griffin (Dublin Institute for Technology, Ireland) and Alan Clarke (University of Pannonia, Hungary).

The conference fee is 150 EUR. Participants from Hungarian partner institutions of the University of Pannonia can attend the conference at a discounted rate of 30 000 HUF.

The deadline for the conference fee and registration is 15 April 2016.

World Anthropologies and Privatization of Knowledge: Engaging Anthropology in Public

Dubrovnik, Croatia, 4 - 9 May 2016

The Institute for Anthropological Research from Croatia, in collaboration with Slovenian colleagues from the Department for Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Ljubljana and the Association KULA, is organising the Inter-Congress of International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) that will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 4 - 9 May 2016.

As the ethnological and anthropological sciences encompass an abundance of different research fields and perspectives, particularly as they develop in diverse parts of the world, the organisers accepted 171 diverse and interesting panels that are divided into the following topics of the Inter-Congress:

World anthropologies: peripheries strike back;

Privatization of knowledge, technologies, and nature;

Engagement and practice: publicizing and using anthropology / Bringing anthropology to the people: how can science contribute to everyday lives;

For and Against Models of Official Multiculturalism and Multilingualism

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 5 - 7 May 2016

While official multilingualism promotes and protects equal linguistic rights in legislation, often the constitution, for historic and symbolic reasons, official languages do not always enjoy equal status in practice. Unequal cultural and linguistic power relations have been studied by numerous scholars (Bastarache, Brachandall, Cardinal, Casanova, Conrick, Cronin, Lamarre, Meylaerts, to name but a few) in various disciplines (e.g., the law, political science, sociology, translation studies) and are recognized as a major hurdle to achieving true equality.

The Trans Europe Halles Meeting 81: It's (about) Politics will be held in Vienna, Austria, on 6 - 8 May 2016. The TEH Meeting 81 at WUK offers room for debate and reflection about the emancipatory potential and impact of cultural practice.

There is widespread unease about a loss of democracy, about globalisation and the power of markets, inequality, eroding solidarity and the ever-expanding job and living insecurity. This unease affects us - a political response and action are called for.

It's (about) Politics investigates what it means to be 'political': What does it mean for each and every one of us? How do we act? How can we act - as individuals, as collectives, as institutions?

Independent cultural centres have their roots in the political act of appropriating space for alternative cultural and social production. Therefore, cultural institutions are also places where civil society acts, where questions of how to take part in the political process are negotiated and lived. Taking into account these roots, the conference will focus on the self-conception and the role of cultural centres as institutions, as well as on the importance of art and culture in a political present characterised by the dynamics of inequality. In four thematic 'routes' It's (about) Politics will address a variety of issues, from contemporary political theory to practice-oriented inputs. From the perspectives of politicisation, networking and building alliances, the possibilities of individual and collective political action will be discussed and interventions will be planned in the framework of workshops, hands-on sessions, and in exchanges of experiences.

International Symposium on the Measurement of Digital Cultural Products

Montreal, Canada, 9 - 11 May 2016

The transition to digital methods of creating, producing and disseminating cultural works has radically changed the conditions surrounding their statistical measurement, calling into question the relevance of current statistics on culture. In this context, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec, Canada, have partnered to bring together statistical experts and researchers in other fields, such as electronic commerce or copyright, from around the world in order to examine the issues, methods, practices and innovations surrounding the production of statistics on digitized cultural products.

During this 3-day conference, many issues will be discussed: prospects for public statistics; measurement of digital cultural products: overview of the situation; metadata and new indexing models; open data: new data sources; statistical tools - national outlook; statistical tools - international outlook; measuring the production and consumption of digital cultural products; measuring success in the digital age; measuring cultural diversity in the digital age; legal and regulatory challenges; intellectual property in the digital age; the impacts of digitization on the remuneration model for creators.

Heritage is becoming a major topic of debate in the European political arena. Because of its long history of reflecting about heritage, Europe has a lot to offer to the world, but there are issues to overcome as well. Europe's cultural diversity is an important asset, but also a challenge and a cause for debate and conflict. Natural and cultural heritage can contribute to active citizenship and community building but it is also fragile and needs protection. Heritage can contribute to well-being and it can be the starting point for reflection. Therefore, it can result in changes of attitude and opinion. What we need, however, is insight into what turns the experience of heritage into a learning process.

How heritage interpretation can contribute to meet these and other challenges will be the topic of the conference. The organisers want to stimulate thinking on how heritage interpretation can help to experience and take action on important European subjects such as sustainability, lifelong learning, human rights, active citizenship and peace.

The Spanish capital will stage the 2016 European Heritage Congress on 22 - 27 May 2016. Hundreds of heritage players from all over Europe, including professionals, volunteers, decision-makers, partners and supporters, will participate in this major annual event organised by Europa Nostra in close cooperation with its Country Representation, Hispania Nostra, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The Congress in Madrid will provide a unique platform for networking, capacity building and peer learning, cooperation and exchange of views on the latest EU policy developments related to heritage. The European Heritage Awards Ceremony and a forum on Social Participation in Heritage Protection are among the main public events of the programme.

The European Heritage Awards Ceremony will be held on the evening of 24 May at the historic Zarzuela Theatre. Built in 1856; it is the first and only theatre devoted to Spanish light opera, having been classified as a National Moment in 1994. The President of Europa Nostra, Maestro Plácido Domingo, and the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, will co-host the event and pay tribute to the winners of the 2016 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards. The Excellence Fair, during which presentations will be given by the laureates about their winning projects, will take place in the morning of 24 May at the College of Architects of Madrid.

The 2016 Congress will place a special focus on Social Participation in Heritage Protection with a full-day forum on this topic organised by Hispania Nostra on 25 May at the Conde Duque Cultural Centre. The conclusions of the forum will be presented the next day at the General Assembly of Europa Nostra.

During the Congress in Madrid, Europa Nostra will seek to expand its network of members, partners and contacts and showcase a number of exemplary heritage initiatives in Spain by publishing a new issue of its Heritage in Motion magazine entirely dedicated to this country.

As a core activity of Europa Nostra's network project on Mainstreaming Heritage, the Congress has the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

The European Institute for Food History and Cultures (IEHCA, Institut Européen d'Histoire et des Cultures de l'Alimentation) Tours, is organizing the second of its henceforth annual international conferences, to be held in Tours, France, on 26 - 27 May 2016. The event falls within the scope of the continuation of initiatives carried out by the IEHCA for the past twelve years through its editorial policy, its support for research and its efforts to facilitate networking opportunities among Food Studies researchers. The conference is organized in partnership with the Food Studies team at the François-Rabelais University, Tours and the UNESCO Chair - Safeguarding and Promotion of Cultural Food Heritages.

All proposals pertaining to Food Studies will be considered and all researchers are welcome to make a submission (doctoral, post-doctoral, research lecturers, independent researchers, etc). In essence, the conference is multi- and cross-disciplinary, covering all historical periods.

Submissions should be made in French or English and state the following:

general theme of the session;

names of the moderator and speakers;

brief CV (max. 250 words) of all of the participants;

institution(s) (if applicable);

title of the session;

contact details;

a 250-word abstract per paper.

All submissions will be reviewed and selected by the IEHCA's academic committee. Papers can be presented in English or French.

The closing date for submissions is 30 October 2015. Replies will be sent around 15 January 2016.

The Department of Information and Communication, IUT/University of Le Havre, France, is organizing a fourth international conference focusing on digital communication: Digital Media and Electronic Communication, which will take place in Le Havre, France, on 1 - 3 June 2016.

Electronic communication, which represents the exchange of information of various kinds and diverse forms by means of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), allows people 'to leave', consciously or unconsciously, digital traces of their presence and/or of their activity. The 'human-trace' interacts with a wide variety of interlocutors today, speaks publicly on networks and makes use of different ICTs, redefining the way they are used. This phenomenon, this digital multi-use generates plurisemiotics of exchanges, multilingualism, pluriculturalism, which impacts on the communicators' identities and on the way they behave. Taking these facts into account, the organisers will focus on the following issues:

Strategies of digital political communication and, in general, the place (occupied or not) by the e-citizen;

Place of ICTs in and for education;

Digital journalism in professional or amateur fields;

Impact of electronic communication on companies and brands;

Emerging digital identities depending greatly on the uses and practices of electronic communication;

Territories redefined more and more by digital technology both in terms of heritage and culture.

The 6th Annual New Orleans Loving Festival is seeking original cartoons that address topics related to diversity, multiculturalism and social justice for a group art exhibition entitled A Loving Judgement, to be held from 4 June to 2 July at the Arts Council of New Orleans' Exchange Centre Gallery. The exhibition is curated by the Master of Arts in Museum Studies Program, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO).

The Loving Festival is modelled after Loving Day multicultural celebrations across the country that organize people to stand against racial prejudice through education and community outreach. The Loving Festival also honours the legacy of Richard and Mildred Loving, the interracial couple whose 1967 landmark civil rights lawsuit 'Loving v. Virginia' ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States. The Loving Festival is an important community platform for showcasing films and other creative works that explore racial stereotypes and inspire people to work together for social justice.

Nearly 50 years after the Loving decision, communities in the United States and around the world are still facing social and cultural challenges. Although the new technological revolution in communication and the growing interest in citizen journalism as alternatives to mainstream media have brought people closer together more than ever, they have also uncovered the depth and complexity of some social and cultural provocations. This exhibition explores the themes of diversity, multiculturalism and social justice, and how cartoons and comic strips may reflect the social landscape in the community.

Cartoon artists are invited to submit their original work related to the exhibition themes. If resources are available artists will receive a full or partial reimbursement for shipping. Please use online application to submit your work. The submission deadline is 15 March 2016.

The European Registrars Conference will be held for the tenth time. Having taken place in Basel (2008), Amsterdam (2010), Edinburgh (2012) and Helsinki (2014), the conference in 2016 will be hosted by the city of Vienna upon invitation from the Austrian Registrars Committee (ARC). Over 700 international participants are expected from different sectors - the museum sector on the one hand with directors, curators and collection managers, and museum partners on the other hand, such as transport facilitators or insurances.

Under the motto 'Out of the Box' those working behind the scenes of exhibitions are invited to submit an abstract for the 10th European Registrars Conference to take place on 8 - 10 June 2016. The motto should serve as a theme to deal with 'the latest, unconventional approaches and developments' and invite participants to take a sharp look at their work.

The conference will concentrate on four areas:

1. Art and the Law,

2. Digital Museum,

3. Materialities and Standards, and

4. I am...

Written suggestions in relation to one of the above-mentioned topics should be submitted as papers of no more than 2000 characters to arc@austrianregistrars.at by 18 December 2015.

For further information regarding the 10th European Registrars Conference, please visit www.erc2016.at

Le Rendez-vous de Bordeaux: The New Challenge of Artistic and Cultural Education - Diversity and Dialogue in Europe

Bordeaux, France, 8 - 10 June 2016

Formerly known as Les Rencontres, the network of European cities and regions for culture evolved into LIKE in January 2016. Its second Rendez-vous entitled The New Challenge of Artistic and Cultural Education - Diversity and Dialogue in Europe will take place in Bordeaux, France, from 8 - 10 June 2016. The role of education for intercultural understanding is nowadays becoming increasingly essential. It is in the perspective of disseminating democratic values and favouring intercultural dialogue by promoting open-mindedness towards other cultures that artistic and cultural education takes its full meaning. LIKE has the ambition to develop new common positions and reflections among participants, fascilitating an impact at a local as well as at a European scale.

LIKE opens its doors to elected leaders, professionals of culture, cultural actors, as well as to engaged citizens to create a meeting point of the different voices of culture Europe-wide. Le Rendez-vous will consist in debates, workshops and thematic visits.

The intensity and the number of attacks against the cultural heritage has increased significantly in recent years. The persecution of individuals for cultural or religious reasons, combined with the systematic destruction of their cultural heritage, marked the emergence of a form of cultural cleansing that is unprecedented in recent history. The targeting of cultural diversity has become a key aspect of the humanitarian and security challenges in the regions concerned. The protection of cultural diversity can contribute to restoring social cohesion and to opening prospects to resolve crises, particularly in protracted conflict situations. Respect for cultural diversity is also essential for reconciliation, national dialogue and reconstruction. The rehabilitation of heritage, the practicing of traditions, but also the strengthening of cohesion through an inclusive social fabric that is respectful of cultural diversity, can contribute to the restoration of security and peace.

To discuss how this vision can strengthen conflict prevention and crisis management policies, UNESCO is organizing a High-level event and technical conference, in partnership with the European Union and with the support from the Government of Flanders. The conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 9 - 10 June 2016.

The programme will include the following topics: Cultural Diplomacy; Protecting Cultural Rights in Protracted Crisis; Culture and Arts for Dialogue, Conflict Resolution and Stabilization; Culture for Recovery, Rehabilitation and Resilience; and Working with Law Enforcement to Protect Cultural Property.

Cultural Palimpsests: Ethnic Watermarks, Surfacing Histories is the 10th Biennial Conference of MESEA - The Society for Multi-Ethnic Studies: Europe and the Americas. MESEA was founded in 1998 in response to the challenge of ethnic studies in a time of increasing globalization to provide an international forum for interdisciplinary discussion on multiethnic studies. The Society promotes the study of the ethnic cultures of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in their circumatlantic relations from a transdisciplinary literary, historical and cultural studies perspective.

The 2016 MESEA Conference to be held in Warsaw, Poland, on 22 - 24 June 2016, will focus on ethnic and minority discourses that have undergone erasure, yet keep resurfacing, on cultural traces left by groups long gone that have been forgotten and silenced, as well as on cultural inscriptions left by those who have become visible and audible more recently. Yet, in addition to engaging with the archaeological hermeneutics of recovering submerged layers of ethnic meaning, the organisers also invite scholars to engage in the perhaps more radical act of what Sara Dillon has called a "palimpsestuous" reading: a reading that attends to the ways in which multiple inscriptions and competing narratives are intertwined and produce complex meanings. MESEA welcomes paper and panel proposals from scholars in a wide range of disciplines - including ethnic and race studies, literary, cultural, and film studies, (art) history, critical theory, philosophy, postcolonial studies, etc.

Proposals should be submitted to www.mesea.org between 15 August and 15 November 2015.

The University of Valladolid will host the 19th International Conference on Cultural Economics, presented by the Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI). The Conference will be held in Valladolid, Spain, on 21 - 24 June 2016. The programme chair is Professor Ilde Rizzo (University of Catania, Italy), ACEI president-elect. The local organizer in Valladolid is the Cultural Economics Research Group at the University of Valladolid (GIEC/UVA).

The ACEI 2016 Conference aims to provide a forum for scientific discussion on cultural economics, bringing scholars and professionals together with practitioners to develop a fruitful dialogue between theory and practice. The organisers welcome the submission of papers (in English) on any aspect of cultural economics to be considered for inclusion in contributed paper sessions. Considered subjects include (but are not limited to): artistic labour market, arts market, arts organizations, clusters and urban development, creative cities, cultural entrepreneurship and business, cultural industries, cultural policy, cultural tourism, culture and development, digital creative economy, funding the arts, globalisation and culture, heritage, performing arts, visual arts and related areas. The venue and the social events will give the participants the opportunity to soak up Spanish culture as well as to enjoy the city of Valladolid.

The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) and The University of Sheffield, International Faculty, invite academics and practitioners to participate in the 9th International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development: Responsible Entrepreneurship. Vision, Development and Ethics (ICEIRD 2016) to be held in Bucharest, Romania, on 23 - 24 June 2016. This year's edition aims at creating a network of specialists and stakeholders interested in the latest evolutions in the entrepreneurial sector, the role of entrepreneurship in local development, the relationship between entrepreneurs and governmental bodies, CSR for SMEs, and related topics. In recent years we have witnessed an explosion of the entrepreneurial sector, all over the world. Understanding the complex evolution in this domain requires an interdisciplinary approach, as well as cooperation between academics, researchers, professionals, and public actors. The topics proposed for discussions encompass a wide area from investigating the trends in the field, to identifying effective tactics for sustainable development of entrepreneurial endeavours.

Proposed tracks: Challenges and Trends in Contemporary Entrepreneurship; Strategic Management for SMEs in a Changing Environment; Business Ethics: Practices, Boundaries and Outcomes; Networks and Open Innovation; Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations.

Submission of abstracts: 27 November 2015. Full paper submission: 20 March 2016.

The 2016 International Symposium on Culture, Arts and Literature (ISCAL 2016) will be held in Sapporo, Japan, on 24 - 26 June 2016, organized by the Department of Culture Vocation Development, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan and Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan. Keynote speaker will be Professor Tsuyoshi Yamamoto from Hokkaido University, Japan.

The aim of the conference is to offer a forum for honourable scholars and well-known professors to meet and discuss cutting-edge research on culture, arts, and literature. As the organisers believe that such an academic meeting can be a cradle of innovation, ISCAL 2016 welcomes contributors from diverse fields of culture, art and literature. English is the only official language of ISCAL 2016.

During its Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Netherlands will host an international conference on digital heritage. The conference will take place in Amsterdam, 29 - 30 June 2016, addressing the future of digital and digitalized heritage, through three subthemes:

Taking visibility and reuse as starting points,

How digital networks are changing our institutions, and

Future development of a European service infrastructure.

These three sub-themes will be further explored in seminars and workshops. In order to compose a varied and internationally relevant programme, the organizers are inviting suggestions from network partners, fellow European member states and any organisation with a connection to the theme. They are specifically looking for interesting showcases, international best practices and inspiring speakers. Speakers who can address the challenges for initiators and/or who can address impacts on institutions working in cross-sectoral information networks.

If you have any concrete suggestions, names and cases in the field of digital(isation of) heritage, reuse of heritage and well-functioning cross-sectoral information networks, please send them in. You are also invited to send in ideas or topics for breakout sessions.

The audience will consist of civil servants from each of the European Member States, policy makers from the cultural sectors and representatives from the cultural industry/market.

The India Theatre Programme (ITP), an initiative by The Drama School Mumbai, an organisation that works in the field of drama pedagogy in India, offers a 4-week training and creation workshop for theatre makers, actors, dancers and performance artists. It is aimed at theatre practitioners from across the world seeking to inform and enhance their own personal practice, and at actors and students of theatre who are keen to work across cultural boundaries to explore other systems of performance.

The training will be conducted by nationally recognized masters of these forms, and guided throughout by the award winning ex-director of The National School of Drama, India's foremost training institution for the dramatic arts, and will be held in Pondicherry, India, from 2 July to 31 July 2016. The objective of the residency is to:

engage and explore four Indian performing arts forms through working with elements of them in a workshops format;

understand and explore principles of performance as put forward in ancient dramaturgical texts such as the Natyashastra, as research through practice;

open perspectives that will further enrich each participant's personal practices in the performing arts; and

act as a starting point for those seeking to explore creative collaborations with Indian traditional theatrical forms.

The first three weeks of the programme will be dedicated to training in the various forms and understanding the principles that can be taken into contemporary practice; the final week will be a guided creation exercise designed to assimilate and apply this learning.

The deadline for application is 15 March 2016.

Fees: Rs 250,000, or approximately USD 3,800 / EUR 3,500. This includes course fees (teaching, field trips, materials, performances, lectures and talks) and residential costs (accommodation and meals for the duration of the course).

CONTESTED_CITIES is a network of researchers from Europe and Latin America that research and analyse the processes of neoliberalisation of space, gentrification and social contestation. Their research involves methodological innovation in particular through audio-visual methodologies.

The CONTESTED_CITIES conference will represent a forum of radical academics, practitioners and activists from different theoretical, disciplinary and geographical backgrounds coming together to probe the multiple forms of urban injustice that shape cities across the world. Cities have always been contested spaces in which struggles over different political visions of urban development, planning and life take place, yet urban contestation is increasing. In recent years this has been manifested through austerity urbanism, crisis politics and processes of financialisation. Millions of urban citizens are experiencing dispossession, displacement and expulsion on a daily basis; their 'right to the city' has been denied by diverse forms of neoliberal and authoritarian urban governance. At the same time there is growing global resistance and counter-strategies to these injustices, varying in form, scale and approach. The conference will develop counter-dialogues and perspectives, fighting against these injustices, in an attempt to go beyond neoliberalism.

Unicult2020: The International Arts & Cultural Management and Policy Programme

Rijeka, Croatia, 4 - 17 July 2016

Unicult2020 is the International Arts & Cultural Management and Policy Programme organised by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Rijeka. It is in conformity with the Bologna Process higher education standards and the European cultural management and cultural policy educational standards. The Unicult2020 programme 2016 edition is planned aiming to increase the participant's knowledge and skills in cultural policy and cultural management and to emphasize the importance of cultivating a creative capital by acting as a bridge between education and the community. It is aimed to help the participants to:

build their knowledge and skills on cultural policy and intercultural dialogue;

develop a critical understanding of the diverse and changing relationships between culture and international politics;

experience diverse opportunities to engage with current key policy and practitioner concerns;

receive a body of work and experiences that can be used to deepen their knowledge;

internationalize their career and develop their professional networks in Europe; and

gain access to a rich bibliography on culture in external relations and cultural diplomacy.

The programme is structured on two levels - the theoretical and the practical one, over the course of two weeks, between 4 July and 17 July 2016 (112 hours in total). The main focus of the 2016 edition will be on financing the arts and culture. The programme is organized for academics, researchers, undergraduate students, Masters and PhD students, cultural operators and professionals, representatives from international organizations and institutes of culture, as well as for anyone interested in the topic. The participants will be awarded the University of Rijeka Certificate of Completion of Unicult2020, the International Arts & Cultural Management and Policy Programme.

The deadline to apply for the programme is 20 June 2016. Applications and all supporting materials shall be submitted in a scanned form to apply@unicult.uniri.hr.

The International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR), in association with the International Journal of Cultural Policy, is a biennial research conference of high academic standard. The conference provides an opportunity for researchers to present papers that reflect on cultural policy from any relevant discipline, provided they make an original academic contribution to the field.

From the 1st ICCPR 1999 in Bergen (Norway) to the most recent 8th ICCPR 2014 in Hildesheim-Berlin (Germany), the community continues to lead rich discussions among participants from more than 50 countries. The 9th ICCPR 2016 will be held in Seoul as the first conference in the Asian-Pacific region. It is expected to widen the perspective of cultural policy research and act as a platform of various research interests. Sookmyung Women's University, Graduate School of Public Policy and Industry and Center for Arts and Culture Management Research (e.sookmyung.ac.kr) together with the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS ) will serve as co-hosts of the conference.

The conference will consist of three parts: parallel session presenting academic achievements, thematic session of specific themes with some committed participants, and plenary session that will discuss themes based on selected submitted proposals. The Seoul conference will include special programme to experience sites of cultural projects and policy implementation.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) is one of the highlights of the island nation's cultural calendar with thousands of people attending every year. Films, filmmakers, film-lovers and tourists all flock to the 9-day event that celebrates music, the arts and the spirit of the island itself. Every year ZIFF hosts a range of international filmmakers from across Africa and all over the world. ZIFF 2016 will be held on 9 - 17 July 2016.

Filmmakers take part in multiple workshops, discussions and interactions with other industry players, aspiring filmmakers, and film fans from Zanzibar and beyond. One of the most important elements of ZIFF is the cultural exchange that takes place among filmmakers from all over the world celebrating, learning, networking and sharing.

Now in its 19th year, ZIFF needs all the support it can get from within the film world and beyond in order to achieve its specific goal of bringing twenty international filmmakers to the festival this year. In these trying financial times, ZIFF like all other organisations needs all the support it can get, and it therefore appeals to actively support ZIFF 2016. The organisers are making a plea to anyone with an interest in film, and particularly African film, to donate to their crowd funding campaign and to support this campaign via donating and sharing with all your contacts.

Building on the successes of the first five Arte-Polis international conferences and workshops in 2006-2014, the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) presents Arte-Polis 6, an international conference and workshop. This biennial event is an initiative of the Architecture Programme at ITB's School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development in collaboration with other creative institutions. The conference will be held on 4 - 5 August 2016 in Bandung.

The peer-reviewed Arte-Polis 6 international conference will critically address the theme on Imagining Experiences: Creative Tourism and the Making of Place through four diverse tracks:

Creative Tourism, Community and Design Praxis

Digital Technology Enabling Creative Tourism and Experience

Creative Strategy, Innovation and Policy Making for Heritage and Cultural Landscape

Discourses on Creative Experiences in Tourism and Heritage.

In conjunction with the main event, a round-table discussion on best practices of creating experiences in creative tourism will be held with speakers ranging from planners, architects and designers, to managers and operators and representatives of the community sectors. The aim of Arte-Polis 6 is to connect practitioners, academics, community leaders, local government officials, policy-makers and other professionals from diverse disciplines and regions around the world concerned with the quality of life and collaborative nature of creative communities in urban and rural places. Its objective is to share and learn the reflection of creativity from international and local experiences regarding current issues, best practices and policy implications of creative tourism on place-making.

Designing Cultural and Artistic Responses to the Rapidly Changing Political Realities in Europe

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 11 - 14 August 2016

The Amsterdam Summer University launched its 2016 program. One of the courses, entitled Designing Cultural and Artistic Responses to the Rapidly Changing Political Realities in Europe, will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 11 - 14 August 2016. This is a three-day meeting on designing potential arts projects and discussing the role of cultural interventions to encourage citizens and civic initiatives, and on building bridges in times of growing populism and community polarisation. The course of seminars, discussions, workshops and performances is led by Simon Mundy and Steve Austen.

This programme refuels the ability of participants to respond to the political and social threats facing communities by discussing practical ways of working to change minds and attitudes. It will identify topics that bedevil contemporary societies and suggests ways in which they can be addressed through innovative lines of argument and cultural activity.

9th Malaysia International Conference on Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Penang, Malaysia, 16 - 18 August 2016

The 9th Malaysia International Conference on Languages, Literatures and Cultures: Engaging Threads and Trends (MICOLLAC 2016) will take place at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, 16 - 18 August 2016. The aim of MICOLLAC 2016 is to offer a platform for local and international academics, educators, planners and teaching professionals to meet, discuss and share latest research and fundamental advances in the field of language, literature and culture. It also aims to encourage engagement between those practicing in a wide variety of scientific areas to collaborate towards improving language and literature related applications. Attendees will have excellent opportunities to meet colleagues from Malaysia and other parts of the world.

MICOLLAC 2016 invites academics to share their views and research, and welcomes paper submissions on the research theme, Engaging Threads and Trends. Ever since 1999, the biennial MICOLLAC organized by the Department of English, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia has been steadfast in creating interconnections between theory and practice by going beyond barriers and welcoming fresh ideas in research, covering areas of languages, literatures and cultures. The objectives of the conference are to:

encourage collegiality and partisanship among academics of courses related to languages, literatures and cultures,

provide a forum for meaningful discussion on current issues related to the theme of the conference,

keep abreast with the latest developments in languages, literatures and cultures, and

establish links among academics and to promote collaboration between participants.

The conference will bring together leading researchers, administrators, language practitioners and trainers in the domains of interest from around the world pertaining to the key elements of languages, literatures, and culture.

Open Call for the 7th International Summer School in Cultural Economics on the Value of Culture 2016Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 23 - 27 August 2016

The Centre for Research in Arts and Economics (CREARE) is organising the 7th edition of the International Summer School in Cultural Economics, to be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 23 - 27 August 2016. The course will explore the interaction of the arts, culture, society and economy. It will also cover the newest insights the field of cultural economics has to offer, while exploring the current development within the creative economy and its contributions to the social and cultural transformations in our societies.

The course uses a value-based approach to the interaction between economic processes, the arts and culture. This approach stresses the role of values, and points out the different logics for the realization of values. It will encourage the participants to discuss the special characteristics of cultural goods, the mission of cultural organizations (and how difficult it is to articulate a good one), cultural entrepreneurship, creative ways of financing and alternative ways of evaluation. The course will consist of a series of interactive seminars, group discussions, workshops, an excursion and discussions with prominent cultural leaders in the Netherlands.

Summer School on Artistic and other Creative Practices as Drivers for Urban Resilience

Espinho, Portugal, 5 - 7 September 2016

The Summer School on Artistic and other Creative Practices as Drivers for Urban Resilience will be held at the Museu Municipal de Espinho, Portugal, on 5 - 7 September 2016. The Summer School is organized by the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra, in collaboration with the European Sociological Association's (ESA) Research Network Sociology of the Arts. The thematic areas of the course are artistic and creative practices, urban resilience, and urban sustainability.

Urban sustainable development requires enhancing urban resilience. In the Summer School, resilience is considered as a space for trans-local bottom-up learning, emerging artistic-cultural-ecological approaches or as a Space of Possibilities. Resilience is openness, possibility, emergence, creation, non-structuration, art, praxis, mutual learning and doing. Several key characteristics of resilience (redundancy, diversity, learning modes, and self-organization) can potentially be fostered in urban neighbourhoods through creative practices intertwining natural and cultural resources and processes such as ecological art and social practice interventions, urban gardening projects, autonomous social-cultural centres fighting against gentrification, and artivist actions that question unsustainable city planning and societal behaviours.

The Summer School, conceived as an extended workshop, will explore comparative insights across different urban initiatives and projects. Researchers, artists, and practitioners are invited to address together several sets of questions and reflect on their empirical research, previous project experiences, and expertise from different cities.

Participants: researchers (multidisciplinary), graduate students and post-docs, artists, and practitioners working with community-based artistic and sustainability/resilience initiatives.

During the pre-registration process, applicants are asked to submit a brief statement on the relevant project(s)/initiative(s) with which they are involved, and why they wish to attend the Summer School.

9th Midterm Conference: Arts and Creativity: Working on Identity and Difference

Porto, Portugal, 8 - 10 September 2016

The Research Network Sociology of the Arts of the European Sociological Association (ESA) announces its 9th midterm conference on Arts and Creativity: Working on Identity and Difference which will take place at the University of Porto, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Porto, Portugal, on 8 - 10 September 2016.

Since 2000, the Research Network Sociology of the Arts organizes a biannual conference on Sociology of the Arts. The key aim of these meetings is to promote the collaboration and academic exchange among scholars of the arts, to support the presentation of new research projects and to offer inspiration for the further development of the sociology of the arts.

The conference Arts and Creativity: Working on Identity and Difference aims to critically debate the role of the arts as a pillar of cultural, socio-ecological and socioeconomic development, of social cohesion and active citizenship, as well as of the processes of identities construction. Thus, the approach will focus on the diverse ways through which the arts are intertwining with processes of identity-making, both at individual and collective levels, and the material and symbolic reframing of social, economic and cultural differences in contemporary societies.

Innovating in the Cultural Sector: Appreciating the Past and Creating Jobs for the Future

Corfu, Greece, 22 - 24 September 2016

CulturePolis, a non-profit organisation based in Corfu, Greece is organising an international conference on Innovating in the Cultural Sector: Appreciating the Past and Creating Jobs for the Future, to be held in Corfu, Greece, on 22 - 24 September 2016. CulturePolis is a Forum for Culture, Sustainability and Innovation, aiming to promote innovative approaches to cultural resource management, sustainable tourism, cultural and creative entrepreneurship, intercultural dialogue, and social action and civic engagement through culture and creativity at the local and European level. The founder and president is Dr Vasileios Laopodis.

The summit of innovators, supporters and friends on the island of Corfu has the following objectives:

to identify and spread new ideas for connecting culture and heritage with citizens, communities and development;

to celebrate CulturePolis' 10 years of impact and insights, announce CulturePolis' new strategy for the next 10 years, and expand the community of partners and supporters.

The participants will be representatives of cultural and heritage institutions and foundations, cultural managers, entrepreneurs and innovators in the cultural sector and creative economy, local and regional authorities, business leaders and consultants, representatives of citizen groups.

The Best in Heritage is an annual survey of award-winning museums and heritage and conservation projects from around the world, organized under the patronage of the International Council of Museums and in partnership with EUROPA NOSTRA. This year, the Best in Heritage celebrates its 15th anniversary, once more giving a featured selection of the most innovative and inspiring award-winning museum, heritage and conservation projects well-deserved attention from the international professional community.

The gathering will take place on 22 - 24 September 2016 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and it will consist of two events: IMAGINES, a one day event at which multimedia and new technology achievements will be presented; and the core event, with its packed two-day schedule, all representing a balanced variety of best practices, geographically diverse and accomplished in many different circumstances. Altogether, 44 projects will be presented, with representatives from China, the United States, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam, Russia and Europe taking the stage. In addition to the global survey of best practice, the conference will feature rich social and cultural content organized with help of Dubrovnik Museums, all taking place in the Renaissance city centre of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The conference is organized in partnership with EUROPA NOSTRA and the Endowment Fund of ICOM, with the local partnership of Dubrovnik Museums, the support of the City of Dubrovnik and sponsorship from Meyvaert Glass Engineering.

The 21st International Federation of Actors (FIA) Congress will take place in São Paulo, Brazil. From 22 to 25 September 2016, delegates coming from all around the world will gather in the biggest city in Brazil to bring the federation's political body together. This weeklong meeting will tackle the significant international arts and culture issues, ranging from working conditions to mobility, health and safety to digitalisation. This congress will focus more specifically on diversity, a theme close to SATED/SP's heart and a major concern for FIA. The motto will be Acting for Diversity. Several meetings of the regional and linguistic groups of the Federation will take place before the congress, starting on 19 September 2016.

SATED/SP (Sindicato dos Artistas é Técnicos em Espetáculos de Diversões do Estado de São Paulo) - and its President Ligia de Paula Souza - welcome FIA members for what is going to be a great meeting of the federation. SATED/SP was created in 1934, just three years after the publication of the trade union law.

BITEF and Cultural Diplomacy: The Role of Theatre Festivals in the International Cultural Relations

Belgrade, Serbia, 1 - 2 October 2016

The UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management of the University of Arts in Belgrade and the BITEF festival are organizing an international conference on BITEF and Cultural Diplomacy: The Role of Theatre Festivals in The International Cultural Relations, which will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 1 - 2 October 2016 as part of the 50th BITEF festival.

The Conference will take place in the context of the following topics:

The role of culture in international relations - between conflicts, promotion and cooperation;

The new / old actors of cultural diplomacy: civil society, intellectuals and artists;

The importance of theatre festivals in the development of international cultural cooperation;

BITEF and the Cold War cultural diplomacy;

BITEF in the perspective of contemporary cultural policy and cultural management.

The proposed topic of a presentation and an abstract of up to 200 words with a short biography in English are to be sent by 20 June 2016 to conference2016bitef@gmail.com

A notification of accepted papers will be sent to the authors by 20 August 2016.

The European Network on Cultural Management and Policy - ENCATC is offering members and non-members four different open calls to apply for and to share their work with a wide international audience during the 24th ENCATC Annual Conference on Cultural Management Education in Risk Societies - Towards a Paradigm and Policy Shift?, to be held in Valencia, Spain on 5 - 7 October 2016.

1. Atelier Sessions - Presentations by practitioners, teachers or trainers on 6 and 7 October 2016. These presentations will be around a specific topic or problem. Preference will be given to proposals addressing the main theme of the 2016 ENCATC conference, as well as migrant issues; digital means for audience development; participatory governance of cultural heritage; cultural and creative sector: entrepreneurship and innovation; promotion of cultural diversity: cultural external relations; and monitoring culture and creative interventions: urban futures and social engagement.

2. Transfer Knowledge Session - The individual presentations on 7 October will communicate the main ideas, objectives, results and conclusions of a project, a research, or a study. These presentations are individually submitted and have already data and results to be presented.

3. Workshop - This format on 5 October involves a highly interactive, collaborative session lead by teachers, trainers, educational technologists, school leaders. This call is for ENCATC members only.

4. Case Analysis - In this format on 5 October, cultural practitioners or trainers are invited to present a case from their practice to share their experiences when designing, implementing or evaluating a practice in class/school/college/university/workplace. This call is for ENCATC members only.

LIKE - European Cities and Regions for Culture are inviting to San Sebastian, ECoC 2016, for the Meeting of the Year and the General Assembly of LIKE under the title La Rencontre de San Sebastian / Co-Construction of Culture in Europe (The Link between Citizens, Territories and Creativity), which will take place on 10 - 13 October 2016.

The policies of cultural democratisation which were initiated in most European territories in recent years now seem to have reached their limits: an unfinished form of cultural democracy corroded by several kinds of cultural ghettoisation.

The institutionalisation of culture has not succeeded yet in addressing the whole population, often finding its way to the elite but more rarely to popular classes. The involvement of populations in culture evolves according to the position that society leaves to everyone.

Facing these transformations and challenges, LIKE wants to reflect on the new ways of democratic participation in the arts and culture (citizens' initiatives, participatory democracy, amateur practices) and create, in Donostia/San Sebastian, a space for reflecting on the new models of public policy development in the cultural sector.

The 2nd World Culture Forum: Culture for an Inclusive Sustainable Planet will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 10 - 14 October 2016. The 2nd World Culture Forum 2016 will continue the major efforts to support and enhance the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which urges all countries to integrate culture in their development policies at all levels for the creation of conditions conducive to sustainable development. It will also support the United Nations' call to encourage and promote culture as a driver and enabler of sustainable development.

A unique training programme for developing leadership in international cultural collaboration has been designed as part of a new global Cultural Diplomacy Platform. Launched by the European Commission, the Platform (ec.europa.eu/dgs/fpi/announcements/news/20160401_1_en.htm) supports mutual cultural engagement with countries and citizens around the world. In parallel to the 7th IFACCA World Summit on Arts and Culture, the Cultural Diplomacy Platform will offer 40 participants from countries all over the world and Europe to join a comprehensive learning- and networking programme. This first Global Cultural Leadership Programme will take place in Valletta, Malta, on 16 – 21 October 2016.

Are you a young cultural practitioner looking to develop and strengthen your cultural leadership skills in an international working context? Then the Global Cultural Leadership Programme is designed for you. Through its framework, content and methodology, the Global Cultural Leadership Programme specifically aims to improve the skills of cultural managers, enhance collaborative peer-to-peer learning, network building and enable you to develop fresh insights into international cultural collaboration practices. The programme offers a set of learning modules, tools and manuals for practice-based learning, giving you opportunities to build meaningful collaborations at the global level and within the EU. The Global Cultural Leadership Programme is a component of the Cultural Diplomacy Platform (cultureinexternalrelations.eu/) launched in March 2016, to support the European Commission with the implementation of a new Strategy for international cultural relations. Candidates who wish to be considered for participation in the first edition of the Global Cultural Leadership Programme shall submit an up-to-date CV (not more than two A4 pages), expression of interest (not more than 500 words) and a project description (not more than 1000 words).

How do museums and archives become more dynamic, inclusive and socially purposeful organisations? From 17 - 21 October 2016 the Nordic Centre of Heritage Learning and Creativity (NCK) invites museum and archive practitioners to a course exploring their institution's social value, political relevance, and its resonance for communities. The week-long course in collaboration with the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), at the University of Leicester's School of Museum Studies, the Swedish Exhibition Agency and the European Museum Academy will take place in Östersund, Sweden. During the course, participants will gain a better and more in-depth understanding of the social role of museums and archives and their use as resources for shaping cultural values, memories and understandings. The course is intended for anyone working in museums and archives who are interested in exploring and developing their institution's social value.

The content for the programme emerges from RCMG's research and practice in museums. RCMG values inform and enrich creative museum thinking, policy and practice to support museums and other cultural organisations to become more dynamic, inclusive and socially purposeful institutions. Grounded in theory as well as Nordic and Baltic international practices and case studies, the course offers opportunities for active learning, collaborative activities, discussion and debate. Participants are encouraged to draw upon and use examples from their own professional context as part of an assignment that invites them to reflect critically upon the discussions emerging during this course.

7th World Summit on Arts and CultureValletta, Malta, 18 - 21 October 2016

The International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA) and the Arts Council Malta (ACM) invite arts professionals, academics, producers, administrators, creators and arts workers to submit proposals for presentations at the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture to be held in Valletta, Malta, on 18 - 21 October 2016. The theme of the 7th World Summit is At the Crossroads? Cultural Leadership in the 21st Century. The arts and culture can be considered to be at a crossroads - faced with many challenges and opportunities at the global, national and local level such as: impact of new technologies on the production and distribution of cultural goods and services; threats to global security; new patterns of migration; changing contexts at the national level including austerity measures and continuous requests for reform; aspirations from artists and culture operators to extend their impact and outreach to other sectors, while also struggling to guarantee freedom of expression and ensure cultural diversity.

The Selection process will be made by Summit Programme Director Nina Obuljen Koržinek, in consultation with the Summit hosts, the ACM and IFACCA. The organisers are seeking suggestions by keynote speakers, panelists or presenters of case studies who can successfully address the Summit's theme.

Some assistance will be available to enable delegates from developing countries to attend the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture. If you need assistance to cover the costs of registration, travel and/or accommodation, please complete the form and provide an explanation in 200 words or less why you think you should be awarded a bursary, by 26 February 2016. The bursary application is accessible from www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2509518/Application-for-bursaries-7th-World-Summit-on-Arts-and-Culture

The Anna Lindh Foundation announces the Call for Participation to the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Forum 2016, which will take place in Valletta, Malta, on 24 - 25 October 2016.

Representatives of civil society organisations, members of the Anna Lindh Networks based across the 42 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean are invited to apply to get involved in the region's primary gathering for intercultural dialogue.

The Forum will bring together civil society organisations, youth associations, regional institutions, media bodies, donor agencies and foundations to exchange practices, to promote partnerships and to advocate for policy and operational measures for a new horizon of people-to-people cooperation around the Mediterranean, based on a set of common values and on placing intercultural dialogue as the central tool for this cooperation and as a response to the main regional socio-cultural challenges. The topics of discussion for the participants will be intercultural dialogue for more cross-cultural understanding, women for dialogue, a more sustainable future with increased opportunities for young people, and more interaction and exchanges across the Mediterranean.

The Maltese Presidency of the European Council, from January to June 2017, provides a unique occasion to put Mediterranean Dialogue at the top of the EU and Euro-Mediterranean policy agenda. The organization of the Forum in Malta represents an opportunity to build on Malta's strategic location as a meeting point and mediator, and to reinforce the intercultural dialogue approach in the face of regional socio-cultural challenges. The implementation of the revised European Neighbourhood Policy, as a key feature of the Presidency, will also provide a policy focus for actors across the region.

The Centre for Social Sciences, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia Proeuropa and Georgian Community of France are organizing an international conference entitled European Values and Identity: Multiple Dimensions of Europeanization, to take place at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 25 - 26 October 2016. The processes of Europeanization and EU integration, as mechanisms for spreading EU norms and values, are of the utmost importance in contemporary Georgia, especially after the signing of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement on 27 June 2014. The conference covers the following basic areas: 1. The Political Dimension of Europeanization; 2. The Economic Dimension of Europeanization, and 3. The Cultural Dimension of Europeanization.

The Cultural Dimension of Europeanization covers the following: Role of European literature and philosophy in shaping and spreading European values; Linguistic and literary paradigms in the context of European values; Cultural and language differences and approaches towards them in EU countries; The European Union and the prospects for creating a common "European identity"; The imaginary map of Europe: the centre-periphery discourse and the imaginary borders; The role of the Church in the process of Europeanization: The experience of Eastern Europe and the Eastern Partnership countries; European values and the European educational space: the Bologna process and the Europeanization of higher education.

The conference will be held in Georgian, English, and French. Simultaneous translation will be provided. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 15 July 2016.

The b.creative conference Encouraging Innovation Through the Arts and Creative Entrepreneurship, to be held in Namur, Belgium, on 2 - 3 November 2016, is the launch event of Creative Tracks, a EU project aimed at connecting young professionals worldwide to encourage cross-cultural collaborations and foster creative entrepreneurship. b.creative is a global event focusing on the transversal nature of the creative sector and its capacity to foster social and economic innovation. b.creative aims to build bridges between the diversity of stakeholders linked to creative entrepreneurship, coming from the business, the technological, the scientific, the arts, the cultural and the creative sectors.

The conference will focus on the various skills and competences required to be a creative entrepreneur in a globalised environment. b.creative is about presenting talents, ideas, products, financial mechanisms as well as enabling networking at the international level. It will showcase the Creative Tracks digital platform designed to interconnect stakeholders internationally (www.creativetracks.org).

The conference will seek maximum interactivity and participation from the audience (workshops, speed-networking, a fair, panel discussions with exchanges with the floor, breaks).

Participants will be able to choose their activities according to their personal needs. It will be possible to arrange 'speed datings' with international mentors, investors, potential business or creative partners. Interdisciplinary interactions will be encouraged between CCIs, technology, innovation, business and finance. The two-day interactive networking conference will gather 200 to 250 professionals: artists, creative entrepreneurs and creative entrepreneurs' networks, cultural institutions, policy makers, investors and researchers.

Leadership Nouveau is a linked website-conference programme which examines the challenges of arts management in the 21st century. The Conference will take place at the Paley Center for Media, New York, USA on 7 November 2016. Leadership Nouveau is organised by HEC Montréal (University of Montréal), the Chair in Arts Management Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux and the Master of Management in International Arts Management, a programme offered by HEC Montréal and the Division of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, in collaboration with SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan.

The 2016 edition of Leadership Nouveau in New York will explore the question of experiential consumption in the arts and culture. Indeed, if the technology used to present exhibitions and performances has radically changed the actual experience of the cultural consumer, it has also transformed the way people interact with the arts, through virtual reality, streaming, 3D or big data, which could be used to reach out and retain audiences, prepare, deepen or prolong their experience.

NEMO's 24th Annual Conference Money Matters: The Economic Value of Museums will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany from 10 - 12 November 2016. During the three days museums and decision makers from all over Europe are invited to discuss the internal and external economic dimensions of museums.

The conference explores the wide spectrum of the economic value of museums. Looking at the different dimensions of the economic value, such as cultural tourism, job creation, regional competitiveness and development, cooperation and the creative industries, the participants will discuss how museums in Europe can best open up to the manifold opportunities and engage in cooperation with other sectors. Different panels will discuss the positive economic impact that museums have on other sectors on the one hand, and sustainable and successful business models of museums on the other hand - keeping in mind different national funding and organisational structures. Best practice initiatives and projects documenting the value of museums across Europe will be presented to show that museums cannot only serve as a resource but as active partners for creators, entrepreneurs, museum staff, visitors and society as a whole. The engaging programme of talks, discussions, round tables and workshops will bring together museum professionals and connect them to EU and national policy makers and to the creative and economic sector.

NEMO's Annual Conference is a platform for a vivid exchange between the European museum sector and the EU, offering a transnational perspective on relevant matters the museums have to deal with in their everyday activities.

The international conference Lost and Transformed Cities: A Digital Perspective organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Nova University of Lisbon will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 17 - 18 November 2016.

The city is by definition a living entity. It translates itself into a collectiveness of individuals who share and act on a material, social and cultural setting. Its history is one of dreams, achievements and loss. As such, it also bears a history of identity. To know the history of cities is to understand our own place in contemporaneity. The past is always seen through the eyes of the present and can only be understood as such. Time erases memory through development and disaster. Cities can simply disappear because they lost their status in society, suffered severe catastrophes or transformed themselves so radically that their history is no longer materially traceable. They can also exemplary absorb the built and cultural heritage through rehabilitation and re-use.

Digital technology is playing a major role in the study of the city and the preservation of its built and cultural heritage. It allows the collecting, processing and testing of an extensive amount of data in a swift and proficient manner. It also enables interdisciplinary research teams to work collaboratively, often in real time. Digital technology applied to the study of cities and their cultural heritage not only widens the scope of the research, but also allows its dissemination to an extensive and diverse audience in an interactive fashion. Through the intersection of digital technology with historical practice it is possible to convey a perspective of the past as a sensorial-perceptive reality. The resulting knowledge furthers the understanding of the present-day city and the planning of the city of the future.

On the occasion of the 261st anniversary of the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, the organisers invite scholars and experts in the fields of heritage studies, digital humanities, history, history of art and information technology to share and debate their experience and knowledge on digital heritage. They aim for an integrative perspective of the study of lost or transformed urban realities stressing its multidisciplinary character and the impact of the digital in this equation. The organisers especially welcome papers that address (but are not necessarily limited to) the following topics: The historic city from 2D to virtual and augmented reality; Cities as virtual museums; Cities, tourism and digital heritage; Digital Heritage: methodological and epistemological challenges; The contemporary city and digital citizenship.

Cultural Heritage: Reuse, Remake, Reimagine, the third conference of the Europeana Space project, will take place in Berlin, Germany on 21 - 22 November 2016. The conference will showcase the myriad ways that cultural heritage can be used and enriched through new technologies, innovation and the ingenuity of the creative industries. Attendance is free.

Hidden in museums, archives and libraries around Europe sit artefacts that tell a story and are waiting for their day in the sun. The Cultural Heritage institutions began to digitize these artefacts making them available online, so that users would discover them and find value in learning more about Europe's cultural heritage. As digitization is progressing, more hidden treasures are becoming visible. However, in today's digital society merely existing on the web is not enough. Audiences want to engage with culture, they want to create their own stories not just read the ones that exist, they want to integrate the information in their teaching, their creative projects, they want to play with the material, not only look at it. They want to reuse, they want to remake, they want to reimagine.

The Europeana Space project is a catalyser for generating new ways of engaging with digital cultural heritage through creative reuse in education and learning as well as in the creative industries.

Third International Valletta 2018 Conference on Cultural Relations in Europe and the Mediterranean

Valletta, Malta, 23 - 25 November 2016

Third International Valletta 2018 Conference on Cultural Relations in Europe and the Mediterranean to be held on 23 - 25 November 2016, seeks to explore the social dynamics through which space - public, private and virtual - within a city serves as a site of discourse, contestation and critical reflection within and between communities, with a particular reference to the Euro-Mediterranean context and Valletta as European Capital of Culture in 2018.

The conference is centred around five main thematic areas:

Community Driven Spaces,

Community Contested Spaces,

Developing Creative Spaces,

City Space as an Empowerment Tool, and

Online Community Spaces.

The Valletta 2018 Foundation is inviting contributions from academics, researchers, artists and practitioners related to any of these themes. The range of papers may cover theoretical and methodological perspectives, practical examples and artistic interpretations of the issues and challenges faced in cities by communities.

The deadline for the submission of proposals (abstracts) is 18 March 2016.

2016 Winter Conference of the Regional Studies Association: New Pressures on Cities and Regions

London, UK, 24 - 25 November 2016

This conference provides an intellectual and policy-relevant platform for scholars around the world to address the new and emerging challenges facing cities and regions. The global economic slowdown poses major concerns to many territories - through shortfalls in employment, household incomes, corporate profitability and tax revenues. Austerity in public finances threatens the infrastructure required to lay the foundation for future growth and development. Economic uncertainties and uneven development also contribute to growing social unrest and new waves of international migration. Heightened regulation of the banks and other financial institutions is bound to have an impact on the funding of house-building and other real estate development, with uncertain consequences. Meanwhile the accelerating pace of technological change in many industries and occupations means different skills and capabilities are required of the workforce, causing painful adjustments for many communities. And looming concerns about climate change and accelerating environmental degradation complicate the task of urban and regional revitalisation.

The 2016 Winter Conference of the Regional Studies Association presents a timely opportunity to discuss these issues, to clarify the research imperatives, and to consider the challenges facing policymakers and practitioners. The conference organisers are keen to attract papers and sessions that address a broad research and policy agenda, including contributions from any discipline which can offer relevant insights into the urban-regional-global nexus, for example Economic Malaise and the Social Consequences: unemployment, migration, hardship and social tensions; Whose City and Region: liveability and inclusion - sustainable human settlements, cohesion and inequality, demographic shifts, environmental responsibility and justice; Smart(er) Cities and Regions: the role of technology - security, participatory urbanism, smart cities, and big data infrastructures.

Academic organisers: Professor Martin Jones, the University of Sheffield, UK and Professor Ron Martin, the University of Cambridge, UK

The Competence Centre Management, Culture and Policy of the University of Antwerp is hosting the 4th edition of the International NWFashion Conference, to be held in Antwerp, Belgium, on 24 - 26 November 2016. The central topic this year is how fashion can contribute to the development of local communities. Abstracts can be submitted until 15 April 2016.

The NWFC was initiated in 2012 and its main objective is to provide a forum for scholars who focus on a wide variety of fashion systems and counter a prevailing ethno- and Eurocentric discourse in fashion studies. Fashion can be an important engine in the environmentally, culturally and economically sustainable development of communities, with the potential to be a crucial element in the cultural ecosystem that nourishes identity formation. As central theme of this academic conference, the organizers propose to explore the contribution of small and medium-sized fashion companies to the sustainable development of their local communities. Different themes will be discussed such as how to build a distinct local fashion identity, how to keep manufacturing and distribution local and/or sustainable, and how to offer an alternative to the international fashion powerhouses. How can independent high-end designers compete with international power houses and establish a distinct fashion identity in a commodity market? How can they keep fashion production, skills and knowledge close to home? These are pressing topics, both in Europe and beyond. Translated to a macro fashion community level, these matters add up to the key topic of this fourth edition. How can local fashion communities contribute to sustainable development and the evolution of cultural identities?

The conference aims to bring together academics, curators, designers and industry professionals who are engaged in creative and critical thinking concerning fashion systems in a wide scope of geographical areas and using a cross-cultural perspective.

The 4th NWFashion Conference invites submissions of abstracts and papers that provide insights into key research challenges. 300 Word abstracts are due by 15 April 2016. Abstracts should be submitted by e-mail to both joke.schrauwen@uantwerpen.be and mangelajansen@gmail.com.

For more information on the conference's history, steering committee, fees and details of the 4th edition, please visit: www.nwfashionconference.org

INTA40 World Congress: Living, Building, Funding the City Post-Habitat III

Lisbon, Portugal, 28 - 30 November 2016

Lisbon will host the 40th Annual World Congress of the International Urban Development Association (INTA) entitled Living, Building, Funding the City Post-Habitat III on 28 - 30 November 2016. INTA40, celebrating the 40th anniversary of INTA, continues to pursue the initiative undertaken since 2015 to adopt a global approach (Design Thinking) on urban planning in which all territorial levels - urban, peri-urban and rural - are involved in the sustainable development of our societies. Furthermore, technological and digital progress, the differentiated demographic development, constraints on natural resources and climate, the limits of public financing and the protection of rights, equity and justice in development, have led to significant changes in the conduct of local policies and national planning.

Around the world, there is a burst of innovation for city management. It is a strong signal from national and local policymakers, corporations and practitioners to design new and more efficient urban policies on land management and housing, metropolisation, climate and resilience, trade and economy, infrastructure and accessibility, reduction of territorial and social inequalities, etc.

In the wake of the UN conferences on the next urban agenda (Habitat III) and climate transition (Cop 22) there is a need to review the operational criteria needed for the implementation of the new urban agenda and INTA40 will be dedicated to one of these conditions of success: funding of the urban mutations.

The INTA40 Congress offers an occasion for sharing international knowledge and experiences on the various ways of financing innovation and urban development.

The European Network for Opera and Dance Education (RESEO) will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, a perfect chance to take stock of the opera, music and dance education sector's evolution, developments, accomplishments and challenges - while anticipating what is yet to come. The Opéra national de Paris, a founding member and pillar of RESEO, will be opening its doors to members for the conference Reflective Practice: Evaluation in Arts Education on 28 - 30 November 2016. An analytical, playful and festive eye will be cast over the ground covered so far, while focusing above all on an issue at the heart of the sector's concerns: that of evaluation. While evaluation of cultural activities and projects is standard in northern European countries, it is much less so throughout the rest of the continent. Culture professionals, academics, researchers, policymakers, evaluation specialists and the simply curious are invited to stimulating encounters and exchanges, practical workshops and animated debates.

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary and thanks to the support of the Total Foundation, the RESEO Autumn Conference will have an exceptional modular format. The Professional Practice Days (28 - 29 November) will offer arts education professionals in-depth presentations, key studies, practical workshops, round tables and opportunities to connect. They will be followed by a Debate and Exchange Day (30 November), free of charge and open to all. Registration is open until 18 November 2016.

The 14th ELIA Biennial Conference will take place in Florence, Italy, on 30 November - 3 December 2016, in partnership with higher arts education institutions and cultural authorities of the city. The theme of the conference is Turn Mirrors into Windows.

Europe has transformed almost beyond recognition over the past years. Thanks to technological evolution, globalisation and open border policies, we find ourselves working and living in close connection to the rest of the world. At the same time Europe's self-conception as a place of tolerance, inclusion and prosperity is increasingly challenged by complex issues such as large migration processes, an ageing population, emerging radicalism and shifting economic powers. What do we see when we look at ourselves, our institutions, and the world? To what extent do we adapt, make use of or even contribute to the challenges and opportunities presented? And how shall we move forward?

The conference Turn Mirrors into Windows provides a platform for ELIA members to discuss these questions and consider the role artists, arts educators and arts education institutions have in the creation of tomorrow's society. Florence, with its turbulent political and artistic history, a beacon of European cultural heritage, is the ideal city to have this conversation.

The Steering Group of the 14th ELIA Biennial Conference invites colleagues from ELIA member institutions from all artistic disciplines to contribute to the programme and showcase their practices in the arts and education, be it in a paper presentation, a Pecha Kucha, or another suitable format such as for example a workshop, debate or another interactive session.